ST. LOUIS -- Another week, another honor for the St. Louis Blues.
Two weeks after linemate Vladimir Tarasenko was named the NHL's first star for the preceding week, and one week after Tarasenko was the third star, Blues center Jori Lehtera was named the NHL's first star for the week ending Nov. 16. That's three weeks in a row a Blues player has been among the league's top three stars.
Montreal goaltender Carey Price and Nashville forward Filip Forsberg were named second and third star, respectively, for last week.
Lehtera opened the week with a natural hat trick -- he scored the first three goals of the game -- in a 6-1 win over Buffalo on Tuesday. It was his first career hat trick. Two days later he had two assists as the Blues notched a 4-3 victory over Nashville. Then on Saturday he scored a goal in a 4-1 win over Washington, the Blues' 10th win in 11 games.
Overall, Lehtera tied for the NHL lead in goals (four) and points (six) and posted a plus-5 rating last week as the 12-4-1 Blues moved into first place in the Central Division.
The "STL Line" of Jaden Schwartz, Tarasenko and Lehtera has combined for 33 points in its past eight contests.
